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Bill Haig National Reasonable Accommodation
CoordinatorEnvironmental Protection Agency
History of Reasonable Accommodation Rehab Act of 1973ADA 1990Section 501 & Title I now have same
standards, definitions & requirements Executive Order 13164, July 2000ADA Amendments Act of 2008Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act
Reasonable Accommodation & Definitions
Reasonable Accommodation: modifications or adjustments to a job, employment practice, or work environment that makes it possible for an employee with a disability to perform essential job duties, enjoy equal benefits/privileges of employment and an applicant w/disability to have equal access to application process.
Disability (actual, history of, regarded as)
Major Life Activities
Substantially Limits – Nine rules of construction
Undue hardship: Action that requires significant difficulty – extensive, disruptive, fundamentally alters nature or operation of office/unit, etc.
When is process triggered? (Step 1)
Process must be initiated by the employee, in most cases
What to listen for from employee Applicant requestThird partyVerbal vs. writtenWho receives request
Is the requestor an “individual with a disability?” (Step 2)
ObviousHidden/non-Obvious Is medical documentation needed or not? Who determines “disability” Information conveyed to “decision maker”
What accommodations will be considered (Step 3)
Requires Decision-maker (DM) and employee (may include others)
Look at particular job and determine essential functions
Consult with employee Must know functional limitations of employee Select the accommodation that best addresses
needs of the employee and employer RA must provide opportunity for employee to
perform essential functions of current job and/or adhere to uniformly applied conduct rules
Offering Reasonable Accommodation (Step 4)
DM approves/denies RA requestMust employer offer what is requested?Need not be best accommodation, just
effectiveMust only remove employment-related
barriersOffering another “effective” RA Personal use items not requiredResources available to employer & employee
(CAP, JAN, RAC, DEPM)
Basis for “denial” of RA (Step 4 continued)• Creates “undue hardship” Action that requires
significant difficulty – extensive, disruptive, fundamentally alters nature or operation of office/unit, etc.
• Changes the job for which person is performing or desires
• Removes essential job functions• Other employees do more work• Lowers production standards• Not a “person with a disability” • Failure to cooperate • Not a “qualified person with a disability”
Reasonable…Job restructuring (reallocate, redistribute or
eliminate marginal duties) Flexible scheduling (start and end times) Acquiring new equipment or assistive
technologyProviding qualified interpreters TeleworkPhysical changes to work area
These “are not” defensible undue hardship claims
“If I do this for you, I will have to do it for everyone else”
“We just don’t do that here”“I treat all of my employees the same”“I don’t have any money in my budget” (feds)
Timeframes to process RA requests
• Included in your RA Procedures • Should be as short as possible• Management/DM should be informed of
timeframes every step of the way
How effectiveness is determined (Step 5)• Removes the barrier(s) allowing employee to
perform essential job functions of current job in satisfactory manner and/or allows employee to adhere to uniformly applied conduct rules
Does not create undue hardshipIf creates undue hardship, then need to come up
with a different RA Evaluation of performance and/or conductIf RA is deemed ineffective, how to determine if it
is the employee who “will not” do the job, or if it is the accommodation that is “ineffective”
Reassignment (Step 6)LAST RESORT Process of reassignment Vacant, qualified, how long to look, where to
lookNot a competitive processMust be able to perform essential functions
with/without RARelocation expenses
Privacy Act & Confidentiality Strict legal limitations on use of medical
informationAll medical information used for RA kept in
separate filesShare medical information only on “need to
know” basis & if authorized, in writing, from employee
Revealing that employee is disabled and/or receiving RA
Recordkeeping/Tracking• EEOC requirements resulting from Executive
Order 13164 Employer/Agency requirements are outlined
in RA Procedures
Performance & ConductHow it relates to RA process Can you discipline? RA provides opportunity to improve RA is doing things different for an
employee with a disability
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